Michigan Music Conference

Grand Rapids, Michigan

January 21, 3:00 p.m.

STANDARD ORCHESTRA REPERTOIRE

THAT YOUR HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA CAN PLAY
Kevin Miller
assisted by members of the
Eastern Michigan University Symphony Orchestra

A.
Parameters

1.
Full Orchestra only

2.
Music not on the MSBOA Basic Music List

3.
Public Domain (mostly)

4.
Beethoven and beyond

5.
Original works

B.
Selecting Music

1.
Lists

2.
Littrel, David and Laura Reed Racin, Ed. Teaching Music Through Performance in Orchestra.
Volumes 1-3. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2001.

3.
Publisher catalogs and websites

4.
Online forums

5.
Examine scores


a.
Instrumentation


b.
Keys


c.
Clefs and transpositions


d.
Texture


e.
Ranges

C.
Modifications (if necessary)

1.
Purchase or re-write parts in modern keys and clefs.

2.
Simplify technically difficult parts for weaker, younger players.

3.
Make cuts, if necessary.

4.
Substitute if necessary


a. Oboe: violin, soprano sax or muted trumpet


b. Bassoon: bass clarinet, trombone, euphonium, cello, or tenor sax.


c. Horn: euphonium, trombone, alto sax, tenor sax.


d. Trombone: euphonium.


e. Harp or celeste: electronic keyboard
D.
Standard Orchestral Repertoire not on the MSBOA Basic Music List
Composer Title Grade Comments
Beethoven Symphony No. 4, mvt. 3 5 Bb major.
Beethoven Symphony No. 6, mvts. 4, 5 5 Dramatic.
Beethoven Symphony No. 8, mvts. 1, 2 4 F major & Bb major. Counting challenges in mvt. 2. (2/4 4/8)
Berlioz Dance of the (Wood)Sprites 4-5 Great woodwind feature
Berlioz Ballet of the Sylphs 4 First violins & harps do all the work
Bizet L'Arlesienne Suite No. 2 4 Very popular. High violin parts can be simplified.
Brahms Variations of a Theme of Haydn 5-6 Cut out harder variations. Finale is glorious.
Brahms Hungarian Dances 4 Quite playable and fun to work on rubato
Brahms Symphony No. 1, mvt. 3 5-6 Ab major and B major. Tricky ensemble passages.
Brahms Symphony No. 4, mvt. 4 6 Definitely a stretch.
Chabrier Joyeuse Marche 5 A fun march.
Chadwick Jubilee 5 Similar to Dvorak Carnival Overture.
Chadwick Hobgolin 5 Good for a Halloween Concert
Debussy Clouds, from Nocturnes 5 Accessible introduction to Debussy
Dvorak Slavonic Dances Op. 46, Nos. 1, 4, 4-5 Good ensemble builders
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Dvorak Symphony No. 7, mvt. 2 5 Oboe and English Horn solos.
Dvorak Symphony No. 8, mvts. 1-3 5 Mvt. 4 is already on MSBOA list.
Faure Pavanne 4 Woodwind feature, especially flute.
Faure Dolly Suite 4 Very playable.
Faure Pelleas and Melisande Suite 5 More demanding than Dolly but appeals to the imagination.
Frank Symphony (mvt. 1) 5-6 Challenging on many levels, but possible.
Ives Variations on America 5 Very colorful. Publisher: Merion.
Kabalevsky Colas Breugnon Overture 5 Very rhythmic. Lots of fun. (Back in copyright, unfortunately)
Liadov Enchanted Lake 5 Transparent. Needs harp.
Liszt Les Preludes 5 Lots of arpeggios in strings, which can be simplified.
Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody, No. 2 5 Cuttable if necessary.
Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4, mvt. 2 4 The challenges are musical, not technical
Mendelssohn Symphony No. 5, mvt. 4 The fugue insures everyone has lots to do.
Menotti Intro, March, Shepherd's Dance 4-5 A great piece for two good oboes. Lucks Rental.
from Amahl and Night Visitors
Prokofiev Peter and the Wolf 5 As long as you have good key solo players, its doable. (Back in
copyright, unfortunately)
Rimsky- Capriccio Espagnol 5 Need good clarinet, English horn, brass, and concertmaster
Korsakov
Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3 (Organ) 5-6 Needs piano as well as organ. Cutable.
Schubert Symphony No. 5 5 Good for chamber size group
Schumann Symphony No. 4 5 Much doubling, but string and WW parts dont lie well.
Sibelius Pelleas and Melisande Suite 4-5 Similar in difficulty to Faures
Sowerby From The Northland, mvts. 2, 3 5 Michigan connection
Suppe Poet & Peasant Overture 5 Need harp, solo cellist and good violin I section
Tchaikovsky Nutcracker Suite (portions of) 5 The overture and Waltz of the Flowers are harder than they look.
Tchaikovsky Sleeping Beauty Suite 5 The Waltz is especially fun.
Tchaikovsky Polonaise fr. Eugene Onegin 5 Need strong violin I section.
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5, mvt. 4 5-6 Done fairly often but not on MSBOA list

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Wagner Elsas Procession to the Cathedral 4 Use the Watson-Campbell adaptation.
Verdi Prelude to La Traviata 4 Used in Pretty Woman.

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